Kobe Bryant’s Influence Is Waning as Lakers Pass on Phil Jackson

Mike D'Antoni, formerly the New York Knicks' head coach, on March 9, 2012, questions a call with an official. The 61-year-old D’Antoni received a three-year contract worth $12 million to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. Photographer: Jeffrey Phelps/AP Photo

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Los Angeles Lakers’ hiring of
Mike D’Antoni as coach indicates Kobe Bryant’s influence with
team management is waning, said Steve Mills, a former president
of Madison Square Garden sports.

Bryant, 34, has won five National Basketball Association
titles in 16 seasons with the Lakers, who yesterday opted for
D’Antoni over Phil Jackson, the winner of five of his record 11
coaching titles with the franchise. Bryant publicly lobbied for
Jackson to replace Mike Brown, who was fired last week after a
1-4 start.

“It’s clear the Lakers are at a point where they’re going
to do things that are in the best interest of the team
regardless of what Kobe thinks,” Mills said.

Brown signed a four-year, $18 million contract prior to
last season. The 61-year-old D’Antoni received a three-year
contract worth $12 million. All that guaranteed money makes it
unlikely that management would make another change even if
Bryant, who is third in the league in scoring at 26.1 points a
game, becomes displeased as he enters the final part of his
career, Mills said in a telephone interview.

“The combination brings them to a point where it’s going
to be very difficult to make drastic changes,” he said. “Kobe
is still going to have a voice in the team, but I don’t think
he’s in a position to mandate where certain things happen.”

Bryant’s agent, Rob Pelinka, didn’t return a message left
at his office seeking comment on the coaching situation.

D’Antoni is reunited with point guard Steve Nash, a two-time Most Valuable Player who, like three-time Defensive Player
of the Year Dwight Howard, joined the Lakers via trade during
the offseason.

Seven Seconds

Nash flourished with the Phoenix Suns under D’Antoni, who
preaches an up-tempo, pick-and-roll offense and encourages his
players to take the best shot available in the first seven
seconds of the shot clock.

A D’Antoni-coached team might be reminiscent of the Magic
Johnson-fueled “Showtime” Lakers, who won five championships
during the 1980s.

Unlike the fast-paced D’Antoni, Jackson endorses the so-called triangle offense, where players are asked to read the
defense and react by making the proper pass. He utilized the
triangle with the Lakers, who had Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal,
and the Chicago Bulls, who won six championships with Michael
Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Jackson’s contract demands included an ownership stake in
the team, the Los Angeles Times reporting, citing an
unidentified person familiar with the situation.

Title Chances

Jackson, 67, is the only coach that would’ve improved the
team’s title chances, said RJ Bell, founder of Las Vegas
handicapping information website Pregame.com.

The Lakers are the second favorite to win the title behind
the defending champion Miami Heat.

D’Antoni was quoted as telling the New York Daily News that
he, like most in the basketball community, figured Jackson was a
shoo-in for the job.

“For sure I did, didn’t everybody?” he was quoted as
saying. “When I got the call that it was me, my first reaction
was, ‘Are you serious?’”

Jackson said yesterday in a statement that he learned of
the Lakers’ decision after being awakened by a midnight phone
call from General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Jackson said he had a
handshake agreement with Lakers’ officials that he had until
yesterday to make a decision about returning to coaching.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss; his son, Executive Vice President
Jim Buss; and Kupchak were unanimous that D’Antoni was the best
coach at this time, the team said on its website.

“Part of this is Jim Buss putting his stamp on what’s
going on within the team and taking the reins in a bigger way,”
said Mills, who oversaw business operations of the NBA’s New
York Knicks and hockey’s New York Rangers while at MSG.

Franchise Value

Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, now an analyst with ESPN,
said who is playing, and how they’re playing, is more important
to the league’s most valuable franchise than who is coaching the
team. The Lakers have a payroll of more than $100 million this
season and are valued at $900 million by Forbes magazine.

Nash, 38, was hurt in the second game of the season, while
Howard says he’s still rounding into form after offseason back
surgery that forced him to skip the London Olympics for the U.S.
team. Bryant played on the team, which included D’Antoni as an
assistant and won the gold medal.

“Once Steve comes back they’ll flourish,” said Mills, who
started three seasons for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril at
Princeton University.

The Lakers this season have created 18.1 pick-and-roll
possessions per game, the lowest in the 30-team NBA, according
to Synergy Sports Technology. Howard was the most efficient
finisher last season in the pick-and-roll among players with at
least 35 possessions, while Nash was the most efficient creator
with at least 315.

Outscores Teams

Howard shot 74 percent last season in pick-and-roll
situations. Nash by himself created more points via pick-and-roll plays than 10 teams in the league, according to Synergy, a
sports statistics and data company based in Woodinville,
Washington.

D’Antoni most recently spent three-plus seasons as coach of
the Knicks, resigning last season with the team 18-24. Houston
Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin, a Nash disciple who spent last
season with the Knicks, credited D’Antoni for his success. Lin
took over in midseason and helped lead a surge that resulted in
the Knicks’ first postseason win since 2001.

“He changed my career, he changed my life,” Lin was
quoted by the Houston Chronicle as saying. “I’m always thankful
to him for that. I wish him the best of luck in L.A.”